One sunny day, the snow in the mountains and forests outside had not yet melted, but the sun was shining brightly, and it was getting a little warmer in the afternoon. Qingya wanted to take a walk, and went to Yuanhong Temple on the mountain to pray for the child in her belly, and also to relieve the recent pain. of fatigue.
With the joy of becoming a mother for the first time, she crossed the threshold lightly with her feet and hands, and then hesitated. In front of others, she wore a slender and generous cotton sweater, holding a low side bun decorated with beads, and walked Her steps were still the same as those of a lady, and she looked nothing like a pregnant woman.
As soon as she was helped out by Xiangxiang and Xiyi, she saw two people waiting in front of the door: "Madam, this slave is sent by the prime minister to serve you. Madam... where are you going?"
When Qingya heard that it was her uncle who sent her, she slightly raised the corners of her lips, looked at their crimson cheeks and evasive eyes, and asked, "I'm not a sharp person, why are you two seeing each other?" Should I hide?"
The two of them became increasingly nervous and timid.
It took a while for one of them to respond: "To tell you the truth, I just came here and am a little afraid of life. The Grand Master saw that we were both quick at work, so he assigned me to serve the lady! I hope you won't blame me."...
Qingya looked at the two of them carefully, and then thought about it, in this garden, maybe only the powerful uncle still remembers her! Thinking of this, she couldn't help but sigh: "It's okay. It's normal to be a little scared when I first came here. I just disturbed my uncle. He is busy with work, but he is always thinking about me. I am not living up to expectations!"
"Wherever you go, as long as your wife lives a comfortable life! The Grand Master is the happiest."
After hearing this, she pursed her lips and smiled: "Then you two can stay here! You can also give an explanation to your uncle."
After hearing this, the two waiters hurriedly stepped forward to thank them. After hearing Qingya said that they were going to Yuanhong Temple, they suggested that they go and explore the road first, because the snow had just melted, and they were afraid that there would be some roads. It is difficult to travel when it is wet and slippery, but it is allowed to be elegant.
The two waiting people went together, disappeared for a while, came back after a while, and went to visit again after walking for a while, going back and forth many times.
The mountain road was not very steep, but gentle and long. After walking for about an hour, several people were a little tired. When they arrived at a road that was shrouded in mist and sparsely traveled, the two people said breathlessly: "Madam, the road ahead is ahead." , I would like to invite Xiyi and Miss Xiangxiang to visit first, I will rest for a while and then continue to explore the way."
Xiyi was a careless person and readily agreed. She followed Xiangxiang's hand and moved forward. Xiangxiang was careful and kept observing the expressions of the two waiting people.
The two waiters seemed to have noticed something, and smiled playfully at her: "Miss Xiangxiang doesn't want to walk. In that case, let me go! The girl is weak."
Just as the young man was about to stand up, Xiyi beckoned Xiangxiang's hand: "Let's go! I'm so tired, so it won't be a problem for us to walk once."
Xiangxiang turned around and looked at Qingya. When her master nodded, she got up with peace of mind and went to explore the way.
The two waiters dropped their smiles and chatted with her about her uncle's affair for no reason. They laughed and walked over to her with a harmless smile. It was she and the other person who were talking to her. When people were chatting happily, one of them took out a handkerchief from his sleeve behind him, then took out a bottle of something similar to alcohol from his pocket and poured it on the handkerchief. Quickly cover her mouth and nose.
After hearing only a low murmur, she passed out and fell unconscious.
After that, three or four people with long swords came up from behind. They looked at each other and ran towards Xiyi's direction, as if they wanted to capture Xiyi and Xiangxiang.
The first two people did not dare to touch her, so they arranged for two or three long and strong female maids to take Qingya away and go to the jungle.
Xiangxiang walked for a while, but the more she thought about it, the more something was wrong. She shook her head and refused to go any further, and stood still.
"What's wrong with you?" Xiyi was surprised.
"I... always feel that those two people were not sent by the Prime Minister. You said that the Prime Minister loves my wife so much and treats her as his own daughter. How could he ask these two newcomers to serve him? Where is the lady?" Xiangxiang said, then turned around and looked at the way back.
She stood beside the snow on the roadside
Shouting down: "Madam..."
When there was no response, she was stunned and shouted again, three or two times in a row, without hearing any sound.
"We haven't gone very far!" Xiyi scratched his head.
Xiangxiang was shocked and said: "It's broken, madam!"
The two of them ran towards the place they were going back to, shouting like crazy, and before they had taken a few steps, they met the men holding swords. Unfortunately, they drew their swords towards each other and started fighting with them - "You guys are Who has done this to my wife? My wife is the prince’s wife, how dare you be so presumptuous?”
She tried her best to kill with her sword, but she was finally defeated alone and both of them were captured.
They were tied up in a dilapidated house. The house was dark and cold, and a big hole collapsed from the roof. The dazzling light passed through the gray tiles and projected onto the withered grass on the ground. Xiyi and Xiangxiang were frozen. Huddle together.
Snow seeped through their clothes, and bursts of cold air invaded their muscles and marrow. Xiyi's feet were so frozen that they could no longer move. Xiangxiang opened her cracked lips in a daze and looked at her again. The muddy embroidered shoes on her feet had turned into hard ice.
"Xiangxiang, you must not sleep, Xiangxiang!" She tried her best and used her remaining strength to push her shoulders, pushing the unconscious Xiangxiang beside her.
Xiangxiang raised her pale face and replied: "No...it's okay, I'm fine!"
Xiyi shed tears silently, crying endlessly: "I wonder where my wife is now? She is still pregnant. I don't know what these thieves will do to her!"
Suddenly, she rubbed her hands desperately, trying to get rid of the hemp rope that bound her.
"I want to go out, I want to find a girl!" She gritted her teeth and struggled.
"Ah!...Ah!" The hemp rope was loosened a little, but blood came out of her wrists.
"Sister Liang, stop doing this. You're hurting yourself. Let's think of another way!" Xiangxiang looked around. There were scattered tiles on the ground, but within four steps of them, the debris seemed to have been cleared away intentionally. things.
Xiangxiang shouted loudly: "People outside the house, what are your intentions?"
No one responded outside the house, and there was silence.
Both of her hands and feet were tied, and no matter how hard she struggled, it was to no avail. What was worse was the cold shabby house, and the coldness of the night was already unbearable for both of them.
Winter was getting late quickly, and in the evening, there were faint lights lingering outside. After a while, someone brought a bunch of dry firewood and lit a fire around her.
Xiyi opened her slightly frosted eyes and opened and closed her cracked lips: "You...who are you? Where is my wife?"
The man smiled angrily: "You don't have to care who I am, I will let you two go after tonight."
"Where is my wife? What did you do to her? Let me tell you, my wife is the prince's wife, and my uncle's family is the prime minister of the dynasty. If you dare to be disrespectful, the prince and the prime minister will definitely cut you into pieces."
"Why don't you quickly let me go and let me out?"
The man said "cut", dismissed it, turned around and prepared to leave.
Xi Xi thought that he was leaving. Thinking of Qing Ya's situation, he quickly begged again: "Brother, I just said too much. No matter why you captured me, I know you are not a bad person, otherwise you wouldn't Make a fire for the two of us. Please be generous and let my wife go. My wife is pregnant and cannot bear the torture. If you can let my wife go, I will be at your disposal."
The man was suddenly surprised, staggered forward a few steps and asked, "What did you say? Is your wife pregnant?"
"Yes, it is the prince's flesh and blood. It has been more than a month."
After hearing this, the man took a few steps forward with a panicked expression, as if he was afraid of something. He murmured something in his mouth, hurriedly took out a dagger from his pocket and threw it in front of Xiyi, then ran out - "The King's Flesh and flesh... let's go! I didn't do this, I didn't do it."
The man was extremely nervous and ran away like crazy, which also made Xiyi confused: "You untied us two! Who are you, and where did you put my wife?"
As he said that, the man ran away.
I regretted the dagger at my toes and wanted to sweep it away
She came over, but she couldn't reach them no matter what. She and Xiangxiang were tied back to back, their hands and feet were fixed, and they couldn't move at all.
So she leaned on her shoulders and called to Xiangxiang: "Xiangxiang, are you okay? Let's move together and get the knife, and we can be free!"
Xiangxiang Xi opened her eyes, looked at the dagger on the dirt, and nodded firmly.
The two fumbled, moved their feet together, and then moved their bodies together, and successfully obtained the dagger. Xiyi hurriedly cut the hemp rope that had strangled her shoulder and bled.
Zhuer dragged his painful body, picked up the frozen and unconscious Xiangxiang and ran out, wandering through the whole forest of dead trees without knowing anything.
When night came, the mist lingered. Her ankles were covered with wounds from thorns, the marks on her wrists were clotted with blood, and her scattered black hair was messy and drifting in the east wind.
"Where are we! How can we walk here!" She collapsed in the snow, kneeling on her legs, unable to walk any longer.
"My wife, I deserve to die. I failed to protect my wife. I am willing to give my life in exchange for my wife's safety!"
She cried, recited, and prayed for Qingya and peace.
"Who are those people? They are so arrogant and domineering."
Wei heard Xiangxiang's weak voice: "Xiyi, please put me down! Find a way back and report to the king quickly. Go find my wife quickly. My wife can't bear the pain."
"No, we have to go together, you can't stay here!" She continued to raise her head and gritted her teeth.
I don’t know how much time passed, and after passing through so many fogs and dead trees, Xiyi paused, dragging her frozen feet, and suddenly caught a glimpse of a few houses not far away with their lights on, and she rushed forward with a staggering gait. , burst into tears in one swipe.
As soon as they arrived at the village, they met a woman who came out with a wooden basin to pour water. Seeing that she was in such a miserable state, the woman quickly put the wooden basin aside and went to help her: "What's wrong with the girl? Come on!" Come on, go inside and take a rest."
She collapsed to the ground, holding on to the woman's skirt and saying, "Sister, may I ask where this is?"
"This end is Kaitobo, and further ahead is Tokiwabo!"
"Kaiyuanfang..." She thought in desperation that this place was still six or seven miles away from the imperial capital.
"Sister, do you have a horse at home? I'll lend you a ride to save your life!"
"Yes, there are horses. I'll ask my boss to take them! You go to my house and have a rest!"
